AIMS South Africa 2011
Physics, laser based research and materials science
Mr Sidiki Zongo, a national of Burkina Faso, grew up in Cote d’Ivoire and attended the University of Ouagadougou (UO), Burkina Faso where he completed a BSc and an Honours (Maîtrise) degree in Pure Physics. He graduated from AIMS South Africa in 2011 and thereafter went on to complete an MSc degree in Physics with the University of the Western Cape.
“When it comes to my education, I will never let myself get distracted by the lack of means.”
In 2014, he attended the Open Shanghai University in China. He is currently finalising his PhD at the University of South Africa in collaboration with iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator-Based Sciences and the University of Angers, France.
His scientific work has been published in international scientific journals such as Applied Surface Science, Applied Physics, and Optical Materials. Sidiki has participated in the First African light source road map meeting held in in France in 2015 called “The Grenoble Resolution”. He is attending the Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries research and training program in India. Sidiki has also been selected to attend the prestigious 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting in Germany 2016.
He has a great interest in laser-based research and development activities that include optics nonlinear optics and photonics. He also has an interest in materials science, nanotechnology and renewable energy and is planning to initiate a program of optics, photonics and nanotechnology at his home University in Ouagadougou.
From 2006 to 2008, he led the Association of Students in physical and mathematical Sciences at the faculty of Exact and Applied Sciences (SEA-UO) where he actively supported young women in Science through non-profit activities. At iThemba LABS, where he worked as a volunteer in 2013, he greatly contributed to the Abafundi project which assists high school learners in townships to prepare for their exams. He is an active member of the NANOAFNET and the Optical Society of America.